A gadget that interprets a baby’s cries.

by Paz

This isn’t so much a gadget as a life saver. We have a 4 month old baby that doesn’t yet seem to be able to articulate himself other than to scream when he’s unhappy. The wife’s going back to work soon and I’ll be taking care of Paz junior.

I have to say that the prospect terrified me – until I found the “WhyCry” analyser! It’s a device that analyses babies’ cries and identifies them according to their different causes.

The WhyCry analyser has a microphone and digital processor that picks up the loudness of the baby’s crying, the pitch of the cry, and the period between sobs.

After 20 seconds the pre-programmed analyser can sample enough to categorise any problems into five different categories:

Hungry

Bored

Discomfort

Sleepiness

Stress

The device took four years to develop. The manufacturers claim that the device is “98% active when used in conjunction with the accompanying symptoms chart”. That sounds pretty good, but a few things come to mind though.

If Paz junior’s stressed, what on earth can I do about that? I mean, normally if I’m stressed I have a cigarette and a drink – I’m not sure if the wife would approve if I tried either of those on the little one.

On the positive side though, I’m confident I can deal with 4 out of 5 of the above categories, and I’m sure you guys can give me some tips on methods to reduce stress in newborn babies.

All I need now is a gadget so I can change nappies without having to look or smell – something similar to dark eyeglasses with a clothes peg for the nose should do it!